


Real Talk

by allnura



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, F/F, Movie Night, Trigger Warning - Sexual Assult, serious talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-07
Updated: 2018-07-07
Packaged: 2019-06-06 22:17:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15204635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allnura/pseuds/allnura
Summary: “I have something I need to tell you.” Cheryl and Toni were sat on the floor pressed up against Toni’s couch, a bowl of popcorn and a stack of cheesy horror films placed in front of them. || or, Cheryl tells Toni about her sexual assault.





	Real Talk

“I have something I need to tell you.” Cheryl and Toni were sat on the floor pressed up against Toni’s couch, a bowl of popcorn and a stack of cheesy horror films placed in front of them. They were on one of their many sleepover dates, but Cheryl’s mind was elsewhere. 

“Okay. What’s up?” Toni replied, hitting pause on ‘Halloween’. 

Cheryl twisted her body to face her girlfriend, nervousness clouding her head. She knew she had to tell Toni at some point, but she was still unsure. She knew that she would believe her, she had no doubt in her mind about that. She just didn’t want her to think of her any differently. 

“You know Nick St. Clair? Veronica’s, uh, friend from New York?” Cheryl said slowly, watching Toni’s face carefully.

“...Yeah?” Toni replied, eyebrows furrowed together. 

Cheryl gulped. This was a lot harder to say than she had expected. Her eyes downcast unconsciously, and she shifted slightly farther away. 

“Babe? What is it?” Toni reached her hand out to squeeze Cheryl’s, voice full of concern. 

“A few months ago...There was this party, and we both attended. And we danced for a while and we had some champagne and...He...He drugged me. He was planning on...He wanted to rape me.” Cheryl squeezed her eyes shut, extracting her hand from Toni’s to hug herself. A thick layer of silence filled the air, and Cheryl’s heart beat faster than she even thought possible. She was angry, and nervous, and scared, and all of these emotions rocketed inside of her. Images of the night flashed in her mind and she shuddered, scared to open her eyes and see Toni’s face of disapproval.

Cheryl’s eyes snapped open at the sound of sniffled tears. Toni was sobbing; huge, watery tears were dripping down her face onto her shirt. Toni, Miss serpent queen, was crying, for Cheryl’s sake. 

“I’m...so...sorry...” Toni heaved out into between sobs, desperately trying to wipe away her tears with the back of her hand. “You...don’t deserve that. You don’t deserve any of this. I’m so, so...sorry.” 

Cheryl was quiet. She hadn’t expected Toni to cry. She was expecting anger, or disappointment, or even a whole-hearted vow that Toni would kill him with her bare hands. She hadn’t expected heaving sobs and a shaking Toni.

“It’s okay. Or, no, what happened was not okay.” Cheryl clarified, “But there isn’t anything that we can do about it now. It happened, and I wanted you to know. I wasn’t meaning for you to cry...” 

Cheryl felt a surge of guilt; not only was this the first time she had ever seen Toni cry, but it was crying on her behalf. 

“No, no. It’s not you. I just...You don’t deserve all of this sadness. You’re the best person I know and you radiate happiness, and yet...You go through all of this bad. It just isn’t fair.” Toni whispered out, connecting her eyes with Cheryl’s.

Cheryl was silent, her face devoid of any emotion. She didn’t know what to say - She was Toni’s favorite person? She radiated happiness? Those couldn’t be true. Cheryl was mean, and bitter, and she did everything she could to bully and berate those around her. She deserved all of what life handed her.

“You don’t deserve it.” Toni said, echoing Cheryl’s thoughts. “I know you think you do, but you don’t. I see right through your rough outer shell, Cheryl. I know how much you secretly care. Someone with a heart as big as yours doesn’t deserve all of this. And I am truly so sorry that you’ve gone through all that you’ve gone through. But I promise that I will spend the rest of my life trying to make you happy, in every single way that I can.”

At this, Cheryl leaned forward, connecting her lips with Toni’s. It was salty from tears that neither of them realized they had been crying, and it was chaste, but it held more meaning than their sloppy kisses first thing in the morning or their kisses filled with jealously to show everyone that they were each other’s. This was passionate.

Toni was the first to pull away, her lungs screaming for air, and she was met with a wide smile across Cheryl’s face.

“Thank you. For being here. For listening. It means the world to me.” Cheryl spoke, happiness written across her face.

“I will always be here and I will always listen, no matter what.” Toni replied, her smile just as big as Cheryl’s.

“Now, how about we finish this movie?” Cheryl suggested, drying her eyes.

Toni laughed lightly, “Sure. But maybe this time let’s not have an emotional talk halfway through. I don’t think my tear ducts could handle another one.”

Cheryl laughed in response, nodding her head in agreement as she pulled Toni closer, and hit ‘play.’ Cheryl wouldn’t be interrupting her for another breakdown, that’s for sure. But Toni’s neck sure looked like a great place for Cheryl’s lipstick marks to be...

**Author's Note:**

> a scene that should have happened to tie up some loose ends. (:


End file.
